Carlos Alcaraz outlasts Jannik Sinner, advances to first French Open final

June 7 (UPI) -- Carlos Alcaraz sent Jannik Sinner scrambling with a backhanded liner, resulting in an errant return, to claim match point in a thrilling semifinal, advancing to his first French Open finale Friday in Paris.

The Spaniard, who is ranked No. 3 in the world, fired 65 winners in the 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on Court Philippe-Chatrier. His Italian foe, ranked No. 2, logged 39 winners in the 4-hour, 9-minute match. Alcaraz and Sinner broke each other's serves six times apiece.

"I think it was a really good match with great points and great tennis," Alcaraz said on the Tennis Channel broadcast. "I'm really happy about everything I did today, waiting for my moments until the last moment that I took it."

With his win, Alcaraz, 21, became the youngest men's player to reach a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces -- clay, grass and hard courts. He won in the last two occasions at Wimbledon 2023 and 2022 U.S. Open.

Alcaraz totaled eight aces, but logged 50 forced errors and 58 unforced errors in Friday's semifinal. Sinner totaled seven aces, 36 forced errors and 44 unforced errors. He also edged Alcaraz 147-145 in total points won. Both players battled cramps while sliding through the clay during the marathon meeting.

"The toughest matches I've played in my short career have been against Jannik," Alcaraz said.

Sinner broke Alcaraz in his first two service games, sprinting out to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Alcaraz rallied by breaking Sinner in the sixth game, but the Italian then broke the Spaniard to win the seventh and held to claim the set.

Sinner again broke Alcaraz to start the second set. He held serve for a 2-0 lead before Alcaraz rallied. Alcaraz held in the third game and broke Sinner twice during that surge en route to a 6-3 set triumph. Sinner responded by breaking Alcaraz twice in the third set to take a 2-1 match advantage.

Each player held serve through the first eight games of the fourth set. Alcaraz held again in the ninth and broke Sinner in the 10th for set point.

He held his first two service games in the final set and broke Sinner's first serve for a 3-0 lead. He went on to claim match point when Sinner's final return sailed wide.

Alcaraz will face No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany or No. 7 Casper Ruud of Norway in the 2024 French Open men's singles final at 9 a.m. EDT Sunday at Roland Garros. Sinner will climb to No. 1 in the world when the new ATP Tour singles rankings are released Monday.

No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland will face No. 15 Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the women's singles final at 9 a.m. EDT Saturday in Paris. The men's and women's finals will air on NBC.